Overview
- Tether formally notified Uruguay’s Ministry of Labor of the closure, dismissed 30 of 38 employees, and kept a small team to manage the wind-down with remaining activities slated to end by year-end.
- Negotiations with UTE did not yield revised rates, including Tether’s proposals to move to a 150 kV tariff band and adjust its power-purchase agreement.
- Commercial and industrial electricity prices of roughly $60–$180 per MWh in Uruguay undercut the economics of large-scale, energy-intensive Bitcoin mining.
- The company had spent over $100 million, earmarked another $50 million, and planned three data centers drawing 165 MW plus a 300 MW renewable park, leaving unfinished assets intended in part for integration with the national grid.
- Earlier this year, UTE cut power to two facilities over about $5 million in unpaid bills tied to a local partner, as Tether now pivots to friendlier markets including an El Salvador headquarters, a Brazil MoU with Adecoagro, and the Parfin acquisition.